Ravens rank No. 26 in NFL in rookie snap counts

The Baltimore Ravens selected seven players in the 2017 NFL draft and the squad hasn’t seen a lot of results from them compared to other squads around the NFL. Baltimore has seen 813 snaps from their rookies in 2017 which ranks No. 26 in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus.

So far in 2017, the Ravens’ first round rookie cornerback Marlon Humphrey leads the squad’s draft class with 397 snaps. Coming in second place would be rookie linebacker Tyus Bowser who has seen 278 snaps and rookie safety Chuck Clark has 211 snaps.

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There are multiple reasons why Baltimore is at the bottom of the league in rookie snap counts and they are for good reasons.

On defense, there isn’t any pressure for Humphrey to see a lot of time at cornerback as the secondary is stacked and is without a doubt the strongest unit on the Ravens’ roster in 2017. The same goes for talented undrafted rookie cornerback Jaylen Hill as he recently came back in Week 7 after dealing with a hamstring injury that sidelined him for most of the regular season. At safety, Clark naturally isn’t going to see time as the Ravens have heavy investments at the position with veterans Eric Weddle and Tony Jefferson.

Not to mention, Baltimore’s pass defense ranks No. 2 in the NFL allowing just 185.2 passing yards a game. A lot of the success in the secondary has to do with cornerback Jimmy Smith who is having a career year and is being recognized among the elite players at his position.

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At linebacker, Bowser has shown some flashes of strong potential as he won Rookie of the Week honors in Week 2 but has had some ups and downs as the Ravens are still trying finding a stable solution at inside linebacker next to All-Pro C.J. Mosley. Bowser has spent a lot of time in 2017 splitting snaps at inside linebacker with Patrick Onwuasor and Kamalei Correa.

In addition, rookie outside linebacker Tim Williams has missed four games this season due to a hamstring injury and has also had migraines on the side.

Along the defensive line, rookie Chris Wormley has seen 162 snaps this season as he continues to learn. Wormley is part of the regular defensive line rotation consisting of Brandon Williams, Michael Pierce, Carl Davis, Willie Henry this season. Wormley is seeing time in part because defensive end Brent Urban is out for the season with a Lisfranc foot injury.

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On offense, rookie guard Nico Siragusa had his season cut short in training camp when he tore his ACL, MCL and PCL. The hope is that he returns fully healthy for the 2018 season.

Fellow rookie guard Jermaine Eluemunor has been given some time to start along the offensive line due to All-Pro guard Marshal Yanda on injured reserve due to an ankle injury and guard Matt Skura has missed time with a sprained MCL.

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Overall, does Baltimore having a limited amount of snaps with their rookies reflect in the win/loss column? There’s really no correlation to that. For example, the San Francisco 49ers have the most snap counts from their rookies out of any team in the NFL with 2,874 and they have a 1-9 record.

On the flip side, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots have only seen 853 ad 597 snap counts from their rookies respectively and both squads are tied for the best record in the AFC at 8-2.

So, despite the Ravens’ 5-5 record, they have had the luxury of not having to put their rookies in pressure situations often.